1956 Tasmanian state election

The 1956 Tasmanian state election was held on 13 October 1956 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system^[1] — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

1956 Tasmanian state election

← 1955 13 October 1956 1959 →
All 30 seats to the House of Assembly
First party Second party   Leader Robert Cosgrove Tim Jackson Party Labor Liberal Leader since 25 February 1948 26 June 1956 Leader's seat Denison Franklin Last election 15 seats 15 seats Seats won 15 seats 15 seats Seat change 0 0 Percentage 50.27% 43.61% Swing 2.36 1.74
Results of the election
Premier before election Robert Cosgrove Labor Resulting Premier Robert Cosgrove Labor

Background

The 1955 election had resulted in a parliamentary deadlock between the Labor and Liberal parties, although Robert Cosgrove remained Premier of Tasmania. On 11 September 1956, Cosgrove's minister for housing, Carrol Bramich, resigned from the ALP following an internal row, party switching and giving the Liberal opposition a majority.^[2] Cosgrove obtained a dissolution of parliament from the Governor of Tasmania, and an election was called for 13 October.^[3]

The electorate of Darwin had been renamed in 1955 to Braddon, after former Premier Sir Edward Braddon.

Results

See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1956

Following the 1956 election, the ALP and Liberals remained in a 15-seat deadlock. Despite Bramich's defection to the Liberals, Labor picked up a seat in Bramich's electorate of Braddon, maintaining the status quo with Cosgrove and the ALP still in power.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Labor	80,096	50.27	2.36	15
	Liberal	69,477	43.61	1.74	15
	Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)	5,522	3.47	New	0	New
	Independents	4,139	2.60	0.58	0
	Communist	91	0.06	0.06	0
Total		159,325	100.00	–	30	–
Valid votes		159,325	95.81
Invalid/blank votes		6,968	4.19	0.40
Total votes		166,293	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		174,632	95.22	1.30

Popular vote Labor   50.27% Liberal   43.61% Labor (Anti-Communist)   3.47% Communist   0.06% Independents   2.60%

Seats Labor   50.00% Liberal   50.00%

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

	Bass	Braddon	Denison	Franklin	Wilmot
Labor Party	51.5%	48.5%	48.7%	49.0%	53.7%
Liberal Party	44.5%	46.9%	41.4%	42.9%	42.5%
Other	4.0%	4.6%	9.9%	8.1%	3.8%

Distribution of seats

Electorate Seats won Bass             Braddon             Denison             Franklin             Wilmot

Labor   Liberal

Aftermath

The subsequent election in 1959 saw the number of seats in the Tasmanian House of Assembly increased to 35, which would prevent the kind of deadlock which resulted from having an even number of seats in the house.

See also

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1956–1959
• Candidates of the 1956 Tasmanian state election

References

1. House of Assembly Elections, Parliament of Tasmania.
2. Tasmanian Political Alamanc - On This Day, Parliament of Tasmania.
3. W. A. Townsley, Cosgrove, Sir Robert (1884 - 1969), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 505-507.

External links

• Assembly Election Results, 1956, Parliament of Tasmania.
• Report on Parliamentary Elections, 1956, Tasmanian Electoral Commission.